Traps

How to spell traps

5 letters · 1 syllable

How to pronounce traps

What does traps mean?

1. nounDevices or arrangements designed to catch animals, people, or things by surprise.
2. verbCatches or confines someone or something so that escape is impossible.

Traps in a sentence

• noun

  The pest controller set several traps in the loft overnight.

• verb

  The narrow valley traps cold air all through the winter.

• noun

  The old plumbing relied on water traps to block sewer gas.

• verb

  A clogged filter traps debris before it reaches the pump.

Where does traps come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

This word goes back to the Old English noun 'treppe' or 'træppe', meaning a snare or device for catching animals, which is why the modern spelling keeps that short, blunt single 'a' followed by the doubled-looking cluster that comes only from adding the ending. The Old English form had relatives across the Germanic languages, including Middle Dutch 'trappe' for a snare or stair and various words tied to treading or stepping, since a trap is something an unwary foot or paw steps into. From the literal hunting sense the meaning widened over the centuries to cover any contrivance that catches the unsuspecting, then figuratively a 'trap' for a person caught out in an argument or a scheme. The verb 'to trap' grew naturally from the noun, and the form 'traps' simply adds the ordinary English '-s' for the plural of the noun or the third-person singular of the verb. The spelling itself is reassuringly regular, so the only thing to remember is that nothing fancy happens: it is just 'trap' plus 's'.

How the word is built

• trap (snare, device for catching)
• -s (plural noun / third-person singular verb)